Net Neutrality – the Wall Street Journal Got it Wrong

In an April 12th editorial, the Wall Street Journal trumpeted that: "An agreement worked out recently between cable giant Comcast and BitTorrent, the creator of a popular file-sharing program, offers a private-sector alternative to "net neutrality" industrial policy." In the Journal's view this single, private, bilateral agreement proves that "markets work" and nothing more is needed. We believe the Wall Street Journal got it wrong. A secret deal between two individual stakeholders is not an example of markets working. Markets will work only when technical information about how Internet traffic is generated, transported and consumed, is shared publicly.

There are four key stakeholders in the Internet content delivery chain, not just two as the Journal suggests. There are content originators, content distribution technology vendors, ISPs, and content consumers. For peer-to-peer video or any other content to flow well to consumers, the interests of all four stakeholders - not just distribution technology vendors and ISPs - must be aligned.

The Comcast/BitTorrent kerfuffle erupted because Comcast quite understandably viewed the BitTorrent content distribution technology as pesky, and quietly applied a network pesticide to it. Because stakeholder interests were misaligned, the ISP link in the delivery chain broke, denying consumers access to requested content. Comcast failed to foresee that when it pushed too hard with an agenda misaligned with others in the chain, the system broke and everybody lost - including Comcast. Regardless of whose side we take and how high our emotions run, we should remember that we are all in this together, and the best course is to work things out responsibly.

To work things out we need a clearinghouse for technical information about how Internet traffic is generated, transported and consumed - so all stakeholders can foresee economic effects, and consumers can identify options that best meet their needs. A labyrinth of secret, bilateral deals is not the market elixir the Wall Street Journal suggests. Only transparency will enable markets to work and Internet content delivery chains to remain intact.

• Network Management
• Application Performance Management
• BitTorrent
• Comcast
• net neutrality
• Wall Street Journal